Making Fair Work system easier for small and family business

Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation

Member for Reid

Minister Laundy has officially launched a plan by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) aimed at reducing complexity and improving access to small and family business owners.

"Small and family business owners don’t have the same resources as bigger businesses. Making it easier for them means they can focus on growing their businesses,” Mr Laundy said.

"Navigating the Fair Work system can be challenging and there are big penalties if the laws are not followed correctly. In developing its ‘What’s Next’ plan, the FWC has consulted widely and is looking to put in place processes that better meet the needs of users.”

The plan sets out the changes the FWC will make in the next 12 months to improve services and meet the changing needs of those it serves. Importantly, the FWC will provide more support to self-represented employees and employers – particularly small businesses – who are unfamiliar with the Fair Work Act and the Commission’s processes.

Other proposed changes include:

improved access to information, giving people the ability to download case information from any device at any time – and build in SMS reminders about upcoming dates

expanding access to free legal advice

developing short summaries of key modern awards and improving agreement processing times

partnering with experts in behavioural insights to make FWC services more customer intuitive.

"I applaud the FWC’s efforts to better understand and meet the needs of the users it serves. It’s a real business-like approach to put the customer at the centre of its thinking, making it easier to access services and remove complexity in the system,” Mr Laundy said.